


Something's Lurking

by teuklberries



Series: Halloween Challenge [1]
Category: K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: 31 Days Of Halloween, Halloween Challenge, Horror, Implied Violence, Other, Psychological Horror, Spooktober, Stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:34:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26759527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teuklberries/pseuds/teuklberries
Summary: Taeil hears footsteps behind him on his way home from work, and frantically tries to escape his stalker, with no luck
Series: Halloween Challenge [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949656
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Something's Lurking

**Author's Note:**

> hello! thank you for reading this spooktober prompt, i will make effort to do all the prompts, but i might do multiple in one day if i get busy!! enjoy :D

Taeil knew he was being followed as soon as he left work. He had heard the faint crunching of leaves under feet behind him his entire commute, stopping and starting at the same time as his and somehow following the exact same route he took home, at 11pm. Yet every time he turned to look, and maybe confront his stalker, no one. Just an empty street, occasionally, a cat, or a bird; but never a human being. Not once. 

The footsteps followed him everywhere. Even after he took a random turn, they followed, always at a distance, but always there. He took another random turn, they followed. He took an alley, they followed. 

Taeil began to panic, hard. What the hell do you do when you're being followed but you cant see anyone? You go to a doctor because clearly you're hallucinating footsteps at all times. No, you're meant to take random turns to make sure it's really intentional, but... He did that already, what now? 

Taeil had no idea. For a minute, he paused and considered his options, he could run or he could scream. 

He opted to run. 

The further his feet carried him, the more scared he became. The disembodied footsteps still followed at exactly the same pace. Taeil began to grow frantic, taking wild turns and running across roads without even glancing to check for oncoming cars, stumbling over curbs, bumping against bins and almost crashing into lamp posts. He didn't stop, however, not even for a second, like he had been taken over by some primal instinct that just wouldn't let him stop moving. He ran for what felt like an eternity, narrowly avoiding a bad accident with a car he had failed to see coming, not stopping even then. He couldn't stop, he knew something was wrong, extremely wrong. 

Taeil finally stopped when his feet could no longer stand the strain, his legs trembling as he collapsed like a ragdoll, only just managing to land on the park bench he had stopped at. He panted rapidly, his flushed chest rising and falling quickly and his hands trembling in the cold October air, adrenaline pulsing through his entire body like heavy bass at a concert. 

The park was silent. Only Taeil's breathing pierced the air, his pants short and shallow as his lungs desperately searched for the oxygen he had so readily deprived himself of in his panic. But still, absolutely no footsteps. Just Taeil, the trees and the wind. 

Taeil sat up and shook his hands briefly to wake them up, then stood up and began to walk toward the main gate, albeit reluctantly still. He took a few more steps and listened carefully as the stones crunched beneath his feet, his senses fully alert and ready to panic again at the slightest sound, yet nothing aside from his own footsteps were heard. 

Taeil let out a breath he hadn't even realised he had been holding and began to walk at a regular pace again, his nerves tapering off gradually, his heart beat back to its normal level again. He walked for another minute in relative peace before something caught his eye.

A man, standing in the middle of the main gate to the park. The man was wearing all black, only a black jacket, black jeans and a black face mask. Taeil froze and stared at the new figure standing in the gate, his heart beginning to race again. That guy definitely hadn't been there before and Taeil definitely hadn't heard any footsteps approaching the gate, or even behind him, for what little it was worth at that moment. 

The man was tall and from what Taeil could make out at such a distance, slim, with long white hair that sat just above his shoulders and piercing eyes that stared directly at Taeil, he could tell that even if he was still far from the gate. They both stood stone still, staring at one another, neither of them moving a muscle, not even twitching a finger. Taeil could hear his pulse racing, his adrenaline beginning to spike once more.

 _"What if i'm the one being weird, and he just wanted to come to the park for a stroll?"_ Taeil thought to himself, suddenly thinking about his situation for the first time. _"What if i'm just over reacting?"_ He thought again. Taeil took a deep breath and stepped forward again, the stones beneath his feet shifting slowly as he continued. He had to just be over reacting, for sure. 

Taeil looked up again and scanned the man over, deciding to just carry on home instead of freaking this poor stranger out by acting like a lunatic at 11.30 pm. He kept walking, eventually coming to the gate and passing the stranger, without incident, or being murdered brutally in some way. 

Taeil stepped out into the road outside the park, finally deciding to head home after all this mess and just take a nice bath, relax, then go to bed. He walked briskly, still a little freaked out from the nights earlier events, but much calmer than he had been previously. He walked for 2 streets without incident, feeling a lot more secure even at such a late hour. 

_"I knew I was just freaking out."_ Taeil thought, his head much clearer. _"I'm almost home, it's all go--"_

Somewhere behind Taeil, a leaf crunched faintly, as if it had been stepped on.

Taeil froze in place, his hands in his pockets suddenly seized and tense. He took a deep breath and stepped forward again, trying desperately to reassure himself that it was just his imagination. 

_Crunch_

Taeil froze again. He had definitely not imagined it. 

Taeil took another deep breath and turned around, convinced he had gone crazy. 

At the end of the street, Taeil saw the man he had passed at the park gate, standing still, with his hands in his pockets, just as Taeil's own were tucked snugly into his tight jacket pockets. Only this time he had removed his black mask and Taeil could make out a wide, maniacal grin plastered across the mans face. Taeil stared in shock, unable to move as his brain failed to process what he was seeing. Just as Taeil opened his mouth to call out to the man and see what he wanted, the man took a hand out of his pocket, and waved at Taeil. 

Taeil took off running again, his senses were on full alert, his brain screaming at him to just _run,_ anywhere, home, a convenience store, just somewhere. Get away. After sprinting at full speed for a whole street Taeil turned to look behind him again, his panic doubling as soon as his eyes registered the man from the park gate chasing after him, somehow still grinning maniacally even as he sprinted just as fast as Taeil. 

Taeil began taking wild turns once again, his brain thrust into survival mode, his feet and lungs both burning under the pressure being forced on them. Every time Taeil turned to check the man had somehow gained on him, his grin still very much present and his white hair streaking behind him. Taeil took a harsh, sudden left and tumbled over a garden wall, his body hitting the small patch of grass painfully. He laid there for a minute, obscured by the dark and the rose bush that ran along the edge of the garden, silently praying that the man would not stop to check any gardens on his way by. Taeil laid on the ground for another minute before rapid footsteps began to approach. He held his breath, even though his lungs still burned, and listened as the footsteps passed by his hiding spot. They carried on for another few gardens before stopping suddenly. Taeil squeezed his eyes shut and clamped a hand over his mouth, tears spilling from his eyes as he struggled to contain his panicked breathing. 

The footsteps picked up again and kept going in the direction they had originally been heading. Taeil finally let himself breathe again, his chest heaving and hands trembling, tears still staining his red face. He laid still for another 2 minutes, listening for the footsteps. After 2 minutes of silence Taeil sat up and brushed himself off, slowly rising from his place on the grass. He stepped out into the street again and set off back in the direction of his apartment building, listening intently for footsteps again. 

He heard none for the rest of his walk home. As Taeil reached the door to his apartment building he turned and checked the street one last time, his paranoia still very much present. He quickly opened the door and stepped inside, locking it securely behind him. The elevator ride up to his apartment was also uneventful, no one else joined him, which didn't come as a surprise, since it was already way past midnight. 

Taeil shut the front door to his apartment swiftly and kicked his shoes off, leaving them discarded beside the shoe rack. He made dinner uneventfully, got ready for bed uneventfully and finally shut off the bathroom light uneventfully. He settled into bed and sighed, ready to just go to bed and hopefully sleep away the events of the night, his body exhausted. 

Taeil's phone buzzed on the desk beside him, breaking the silence that had fallen over the bedroom. Taeil rolled over and picked it up, opening the message that had been sent to him. The message came from an unknown number yet Taeil decided to open it anyway, curious about what it might say.

 _"You should really lock your doors,"_ The message read. Taeil froze, his blood running cold all of a sudden. 

Out in the hallway, someone started walking.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed
> 
> kofi link: https://ko-fi.com/mars_127
> 
> curcious cat link: https://curiouscat.qa/tyongieberry


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